Ravioli: Check Your Attitude at the Door

On Friday nights, Ravioli Restaurant & Bar in Northridge attracts a big dance crowd. The club is open from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. with a $5 cover charge.

THE SCENE: No hassle at the door. Inside, the main dance floor fills up by 10:30 p.m. A second floor offers more elbow room, a bar with no line and a place to cool down. Either way, you don't need a partner to dance--groups of women hit the floor together.

THE CROWD: Mostly college age. Lots of guys wearing T-shirts and jeans, with an occasional vest for effect. Same with the women. Almost everyone has a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

THE MUSIC: Hip-hop, early '70s funk and retro. Everything from "Shoop" to "Atomic Dog" to "Brick House."

THE GOOD: "You can wear jeans," said Kymm Soden, 25, of Encino. "The music is good, and you can dance without feeling intimidated, because no one really has an attitude."

THE BAD: "I wish there were a better mix of races," complained Mark Richards, 24, of Chatsworth, surveying a crowd composed of mostly Caucasian and Latino dancers, with few African Americans.